The New York Times comes under fire for an Instagram post suggesting that a viral video of a woman reporting being randomly beaten on the street may be “stirring fear” about crime in the Big Apple. However, dozens of commenters deemed it sexist.
of @nytstyle Posts shared on Instagram On Thursday afternoon, Articles about recent tons of videos This post comes from a young female TikTokker who shares a similar story of a man punching her in the face on the sidewalk.
“This entire caption needs to be rewritten. “Men violently attack women in New York City,” one commenter wrote under the post, adding, “TikTok is concerned about street crime in New York City. “Are you inciting this?” the headline read.
A long caption read: “High-profile episodes that receive a lot of coverage online can fuel a misleading impression of how widespread crime is.”
The snippet also included comments from Mayor Eric Adams that social media presents a distorted picture of the rampant and indiscriminate violence in the city.
However, readers were quick to accuse Gray Lady of taking a dismissive and misogynistic view of the case, and even gaslighting assault victims.
“Why don’t you call it what it is?” [is]:A violent misogynistic attack on a woman by a man,” one user demanded, also calling the post a “sexist dog whistle.”
“Women are not being beaten… men are assaulting women,” said TV chef Runam Livadia.
“Men are randomly punching women in the face” @nytstyle That’s the point here… stop gaslighting women,” another wrote.
Viewers said the newspaper’s Instagram posts downplayed the harm done to victims, including Mikayla Toninato, who told the paper she was left with a concussion and a black eye after being assaulted near Union Square. He pointed out that it seems that
“So people have spoken out about being attacked, but is this… a problem?” one person asked.
“I think the guys are punching.” [them] My face looks worried, but I [don’t know]…” added another.
The backlash to the post also prompted some viewers to post their own experiences of being assaulted in New York City.
“I am the woman who was hit in the head in the West Village on December 29th,” real estate agent Beth Gittleman posted.
“I have a video from a local business. I didn’t post about it on social. I was deterred from filing a report and left feeling invisible and insignificant. “It has become,” she continued.
“How many more women are like me? I’ve been wondering about this for the past few months. Stop gaslighting and blaming women. We don’t deserve that.” We deserve so much more,” she insisted.
“This is a horrible way to deal with what’s going on and what’s probably been going on for years now. I got punched in the stomach last year and when I tried to get help and report it… No one cared,” another woman wrote under the post.
The newspaper reached out to some of the commenters, but they did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.
But reactions to the Times’ social media posts seemed to reflect the concerns of the alleged victims who spoke out on TikTok earlier this week.
“I froze with fear. I was pretty numb and just stood there trying to understand what was happening,” Toninato told the Post about his attack.
The Brooklyn resident posted a video on TikTok reflecting on Punch after friends sent her a similar clip from influencer Halley Kate McGookin.
“I was literally just walking and this guy came up to me and punched me in the face,” McGookin, who has 1.1 million followers on TikTok, said in a viral video posted on Monday.
The story inspired others, including the “Real Housewives” alum, to speak out. Bethenny Frankel also claims she was randomly punched.
As of Friday morning, one of the suspects, 40-year-old Skibokie Stra, was charged with assault in connection with the attack on McGookin.
Stra, an East New York resident who has unsuccessfully run for mayor, governor and city council over the past three years, appears to operate at least 10 different TikTok accounts, viewed by the Post, and is a member of the New York City community. Has been shown to be aggressive towards strangers.
Most of the victims in the video appear to be women.
Toninato said he continues to live in fear that his attacker is on the loose.
“he [the cop] Told me random acts of violence like this happen every day. He wasn’t fazed by it at all,” Toninato told the Post of his own experience reporting assaults.
“I’m falling behind in class. I can’t work because I can’t look at my laptop. I can’t get paid. I can’t work and I’m worried about leaving the house,” she said of the impact the attack had on her daily life. she added.
Law enforcement officials who spoke to the Post earlier this week warned that victims should not only document incidents on social media, but also file reports with police.
“They want to complain to TikTok, but they don’t want to call the police,” they said.
Recent NYPD statistics show misdemeanor assaults are up 10% from last year, while felony assaults are up 3%.
